Shia LaBeouf Criticizes Film Critics in New Cannes Festival Short Film

Thursday, May 10, 2012, 05:34 PMPosted by Manny

Shia LaBeouf, perhaps tired of having film critics make fun of him in the "Transformer" movies, takes aim at those stodgy cinema scholars in a short film he directed called "Howard Cantour.com" which will premiere at Cannes during, surprise, surprise, Critics Week!

Previously, LaBeouf has directed the short film "Maniac" with Kid Cudi, and also directed the rapper's music video for "Marijuana."

LaBeouf is attending the Cannes Film Festival, not only for "Howard Cantour.com" but also for "Lawless" which will have its world premiere at the fest. Based on Matt Bondurant's "The Wettest County in the World," "Lawless" tells the tale of three brothers (LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, and Jason Clarke) who turned to bootlegging during the Depression-ear in Virginia. It's a star-studded Weinstein affair which also feature Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain, and Mia Wasikowska. Directed by John Hillcoat ("The Road"), "Lawless" arrives in U.S. theaters on August 31.

Time is ticking for Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" and still, the production is experiencing last-minute cast changes. According to The Huffington Post, Sacha Baron Cohen and Kurt Russell have left the film and its fantastic cast which includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson and Don Johnson.

Previously, Joseph Gordon-Levitt departed production citing his very busy schedule.

Cohen, whose "The Dictator" is set to open on May 16 (I have great interviews with the cast of "The Dictator" coming up), was unable to appear in "Django Unchained" because of his prior commitments regarding "The Dictator."

Russell's exit is far more mysterious. No one knows why!

But Ain't It Cool News writer Mr. Beaks reports that Russell will not get replaced in the film but his role will get "absored" by Walton Goggins who stars in "Django Unchained" as Billy Crash.

All these musical chairs are making me more curious to see "Django Unchained" on Christmas Day (that's Dec. 25 for you heathens!) this year!

Want to move like "Captain America?" Fly like "Iron Man?" Wield your powerful hammer like "Thor?" How about smashing things like "The Incredible Hulk?" You too can spank your inner "Avenger," at least in the world of videogames!

Marvel's "The Avengers" made a gazillion dollars in its short run that it's a no-brainer to know that there's now a videogame currently in the works. (Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed sequel plans, read here)

This new videogame from Ubisoft Entertainment will be called "Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth" and will be available for both the upcoming Wii U console and Kinect for the Xbox 360. This one's not based on the current Joss Whedon film but on the "Secret Invasion" comic book series. (Click here to read more on "Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth" and here for your chance to win exclusive prizes for "The Avengers" movie courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures, deadline is fast approaching!!!)

Director Ruben Fleischer bent the notions of the zombie genre with "Zombieland," so I'm looking forward to seeing his next film, "Gangster Squad" starring Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Josh Brolin, and Sean Penn from a script written by Will Beall and William Finkelstein (previous draft).

From Warner Bros. Pictures, "Gangster Squad" tells the true-life tale of the underground battle between the LAPD and East Coast gangsters in the 40s.

The trailer looks explosive, and of course, this is an Oscar-bait to be released during awards season, Oct. 19.

Once upon a time, we all thought that Marion Cotillard would play Talia Al Ghul, the vengeful daughter of Liam Neeson's Ra's Al Ghul, in the third and final "Batman" flick, "The Dark Knight Rises," from director Christopher Nolan.

But in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter (via The Huffington Post), Cotillard admits she's one of the good guys. Should we believe her?

According to Warner Bros' press release on Cotillard's character named Miranda Tate, she's "a Wayne Enterprises board member eager to help a still-grieving Bruce Wayne resume his father's philanthropic endeavors for Gotham."

So she's fascinated with the Wayne Enterprises, and she's an agent of change? Sounds like a morally dark character to me. But, we all have to wait until July 20 when "The Dark Knight Rises" arrives in theaters to find out if Cotillard's Miranda is a villain or not. For now, don't call her a baddie!